Backpacking and rafting guided treks
Trekking in the Ray Mountains
Springtime Tozi Mountains Backpacking/Rafting Tour
We think this trip is a unique find among Alaskan adventures.
This is a region of Alaska that is way off the road system and virtually unknown to travellers, and since it isn’t a publicized destination like a national park, the chances of seeing someone else on our trip are almost non-existent. It is true wilderness-- empty and wild, with snowcapped peaks, clear, rushing rivers, peace, and a feeling of limitless space.
The weather is dry and sunny in late May when we take this trip, and there are very few bugs out. The views from the high tundra ridges where we walk are spectacular, and with only an hour or two of “night” (more like legal twilight), there’s plenty of time to enjoy the long days.
You fly (by regularly scheduled mail plane from Fairbanks) to the village of Tanana, where we meet you and ready ourselves for a boat trip 35 miles up the Yukon River.
We then backpack up through the boreal forest, and break out onto the alpine tundra of the Tanana-Tozi mountains, and hike out to a small, swift, clear tributary river on the back side of the range. From there we paddle in rafts for three days back down to the Yukon.
We may see migratory birds arriving back to their nesting grounds, caribou calving, and moose, black bears, and grizzlies.
We’ll supply all food and accommodations, and while on the trail tents, rafts, and our expertise and knowledge of the surrounding country. You supply backpack, sleeping bags, and clothing (we have a list of what to take). This trip is strenuous and requires you to be physically fit, but it is well worth it.
Length: 13 days
Dates: May 26 – June 6 for 2012 (must book by March 15)
Cost: $2575 US per person – includes all meals and accommodations in Tanana and on the trail, boat transport, and guide(s)
Maximum group size: Six people
Rafting down the Tozi River
Looking out over the Tozi Mountains
Yukon River - Ray Mountains Backpacking Odyssey
This trip, less than 100 miles below the Arctic Circle, is an in-depth look at a particularly mysterious and little known mountain range, with weird granite tors (outcrops) and 5000 foot peaks, along with time to experience fish camp life on the Yukon River.
You fly (by regularly scheduled mail plane from Fairbanks) to Tanana, where we will meet you and take you up the Yukon River by boat 35 miles to our family’s fish camp, where you’ll be our guest. We spend from June till September at camp catching salmon with a fishwheel, and cutting, smoking, and drying it for winter. We also keep our sled dogs there in the summer. We’ll show you how fish camp life is, and a beautiful area known as the Rapids. Then we will start our trek into the Ray Mountains.
The Ray Mountains are one of the most inaccessible places in Alaska. There are few bush plane landing spots, no road or river access, and there is no obvious beaten trail to get in on foot. We have, however, found a kind of secret back entrance from the Yukon River over ridges and along game trails , and once into the mountains there is good (though strenuous) walking though awesome alpine country and peaks from which it is possible to see both the distant Alaska and Brooks Ranges on a clear day.
We allow 14 days for this trip, and are flexible about how we allocate our time. You need to be an experienced backpacker in excellent condition, and be willing to endure some off-trail travel, but you will be trekking into a mountain kingdom that is really “off the map”
Length: 17 days July 22 – August 4 2011 and 2012
Cost: $3275 US per person – Price includes all food and accommodations in Tanana, on the River, and along the trail, boat transport on the Yukon River, and guide(s).
Group size: Maximum 7 people
Traversing the slope up to Twilight Pass in the Ray Mountains
Supper time in the land of the long days Hikers and packdog with granite Tors in background
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